Lego Planet

Lego Planet, originally uploaded by billaday.

There's something that's always bugged me about this building--it's interesting to me, but I've never had a photo of it that's been interesting to me. So, while waiting at a stoplight, I took this shot... and I really like it.

Day 131

College St.

College St., originally uploaded by billaday.

Hey kids, turn right to get to college...

Day 130

brick

brick, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is actually the brand new Covina Performing Arts Center. They tried to make it look like the super old Covina Performing Arts Center. I drive by this after work often, and like the long shadow of the lamp. So I decided to shoot it today.

Day 129

to be two again

to be two again, originally uploaded by billaday.

Before dinner, we were playing in the backyard. They were loving the big, green backyard. Everet was chasing me in this picture--I zoomed in as I took it to add some motion to the background.

Day 128

Shadow of the Day

Shadow of the Day, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is one of those shots that ended up like I wanted (but didn't start out like I wanted). I knew there was lots of glare from the sun when I took it. I pulled out the texture in Photoshop and pretty much got what I saw (in my brain) when I walked over to take the picture. I'm sure there's a moral or lesson or something in this rambling. Or not.

Day 127

study.

study., originally uploaded by billaday.

I'm going back to school (again) for one last class. I have to also pass the CSET in math, which sounded like a great idea, but entails all math that I've ever taken for the last 20 years. So here's the giant study guide.

Day 126

rice picture

rice picture, originally uploaded by billaday.

I've decided that Pick Up Stix has some strange employees. On this trip/lunch/adventure, there was ANOTHER person there with an In-N-Out cup. Last time we were there, the manager was eating a Double Double, asking us why we don't like In-N-Out.

Day 125

Stand with the Avengers!

Stand with the Avengers!, originally uploaded by billaday.

Until this game, I did not know that Los Angeles had an arena football team. The game rocked! The announcer... hilarious. The field... hockey rink-sized. The score... we won with 81 points. For every kickoff, we all stood as the announcer shouted, "Stand with the Avengers!"

Day 124

Big Bear Star Trails

Big Bear Star Trails, originally uploaded by billaday.

I've been wanting to do another star trails photo for a while. I failed last night, so I did some homework. Here's what I did/learned:
• I took 33 photos
• total exposure time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
• each photo was about 3 minutes long
• f/3.5 (which was counter-intuitive, but that's what everyone else does. The stars are brighter with a wider aperture.)
• ISO 200 (that's the lowest my dSLR gets)
• manual focus (on the house at the bottom)
• Photoshop: changed layer properties to Lighten, aligned photos (barely at all), masked out top right corner (it was purplish)

This will officially be my earliest photo-a-day blog posting. It's 3:32 am. I had to wonderful idea to start at 1:00 am with this shot.

Day 123

Antennae

Antennae, originally uploaded by billaday.

Even the earth wants better cell phone coverage.

Day 122

goblet of light

goblet of light, originally uploaded by billaday.

The Big Bear cabin has so much character to it. Any guesses what this is?? (Is it obvious because I took it or obvious because it's obvious?)

Day 121

lit

lit, originally uploaded by billaday.

Turns out, it's cold in Big Bear. I made a fire (after a lot of effort). My original photo-a-day idea was a star trails picture, but there were no stars out on this overcast evening.

Day 120

Running Springs at sunset

Running Springs at sunset, originally uploaded by billaday.

on my way up to Big Bear for some songwriting, photography, and relaxation

Day 119

Stitch

Stitch, originally uploaded by billaday.

I like the design of the stitchwork on my shoe. It sorta vaguely reminds me of comets flying through the outer space that is my (fake) suede shoe.

Day 118

Aardvark's

Aardvark's, originally uploaded by billaday.

Didn't have a chance to walk in, but the outside of this place looks pretty rockin'. Thrift store? Vintage store? I dunno.

Day 117

Pixel Junk Monsters

Pixel Junk Monsters, originally uploaded by billaday.

I really like playing this game. My brother-in-law came over, and we played a while. The game was great, but this was the only photo I took (hence, the photo-a-day of this). Yup.

Day 116

Mixed Number shaving cream

Mixed Number shaving cream, originally uploaded by billaday.

This is us getting ready for Open House. It's a huge deal around here, so I had my students clean the desks... with shaving cream. Before they got to scrub their desk, they had to write a mixed number in the shaving cream. They liked it, I liked it. That's what we call a win-win situation.

Day 115

Trainchasing

Trainchasing, originally uploaded by billaday.

Geneva loved chasing the train. Back and forth, back and forth she ran. For those of you following my photo-a-day, this is Geneva's first feature. Dedicated to Natalie (for giving birth to her, and for being awesome).

Day 114

Ode to Ramen

Ode to Ramen, originally uploaded by billaday.

I went to the dentist; he numbed up the left side of my face. Then, he warned me not to eat anything chewy because I might bite my tongue (since I couldn't feel it). So, I went to Vons and got a Green Machine from Naked Juice and a bowl of Top Ramen. I did not bite my tongue.

Day 113

Three choices

Three choices, originally uploaded by billaday.

When life gives you lemons, cranberries, and grapefruit, pour yourself a half-empty glass of juice. To be literal, your choices on this machine are:
1) Slow
2) Wait
3) Stop

Day 112